Saturday, September 17, 2011

Bead Soup Blog Party- My Big Reveal!

A Bead Soup Blog Party goes like this:First, Lori carefully pairs up everyone who signs up (There were 362 of us!). Then we select a focal bead, a toggle and some coordinating beads and send them to our partner. After we receive the goodies our partner has sent us, each participating beader must use the toggle and the focal to create a completely new piece of jewelry.

My partner was the lovely Pamela Petry of Seeing is Believing. Look at the pendants she sent me! I liked them all, but in particular fell in love with the little birdie.

I love my bead soup, too! Look at all the different turquoise beads and the wood shapes. I was all excited to get started and nervous that I might not make something 'good'. I didn't want to disappoint Pamela or Lori. And I didn't want 300 people coming to my blog and hating what I did! Too much negative pressure!! I'm glad Lori sent us a letter to remind us that we won't please everybody. There's no way you can please that many people. So, I decided to please myself. Since I LOVED the pieces I had to work with, I thought I might like the end result, too...

I was right! I do like my finished 'Birdie Necklace'.

I like the shapes and textures. I like the sparkly turquoise crystals and the pink glass rounds. I like the unique wood shapes. My favorite metal is copper, so I was able to throw myself wholeheartedly in to finding copper bits to match the clasp. I tried to add a couple other beads, but nothing matched the simple woodsy elegance of the pendant, beads and clasp. The only pieces I added from my stash were the two copper chains- the heavy chain around the back of the necklace and the lighter chain I used to make a bail.

There were several new pieces/ideas I hadn't worked with before:

1) The color pink= I admit it. I avoid pink. I rarely like it, and it has very negative connotations for me. Girlieness and popularity and school stuff. Blech. But I really liked the shape of those pink glass rounds.

2) The glass rounds= I've never worked with glass rings. I've used some large metal rings, but never glass ones. And I was excited to see what I could do with them. I've seen that beading-wire braid before, and thought it was perfect to try with this necklace.

3) The ceramic focal= I love ceramic pieces, but I've never found anything quite like Pamela's pendants. They are light yet earthy. Rich in color and texture, but decorated with light & airy colors. I loved the whimsy of this birdie.

My birdie necklace doesn't look as beautiful in this next picture, but the whole thing is laid out and visible from top to bottom.

Thank you for visiting My Place! I hope you enjoyed the beads and the big reveal. =)

Hi Becca, I love your necklace. The pendant is gorgeous, but I love the entire piece. I have also checked some of your older posts, and I am now following you. I will be back after the blog hop to read more. You make really nice jewelry.

I really like how this necklace turned out, the earthyness of it, yet at the same there are so many pastel colors in it! I didn't think that could go together. The light blue was a perfect pick to go with the birdy pendant.

As I grow older I'm embracing my inner pink persona, the one that start to jump up and down in a store at the mere sighting of Hello Kitty merchandise and all things kitchy pouffy ;-)I think your necklace has a lot of playfulness and joy.

I think you did exactly right-make something that will make you happy! This necklace has a great feel to it, It feels like a sunlit glade in the forest, with little clusters of flowers sprinkled throughout. You did a great job with your soup!

I hear you about pink! You did a great job, and I rose to the challenge. Well done.

If you take a look at my blog post today, you'll see that I created a pink necklace for myself too. But for sentimental reasons, and that's really the only way I will wear pink! :-)http://artfulaccents.blogspot.com/2011/09/she-would-have-been-100.html

About Me

I'm a wife, Mommy, writer, actor, director, poet, painter, singer, jewelry designer and beader. I have always loved the idea of an 'artist in residence' program... I pray that my life is a reflection of the love, mercy and grace of God.